Drilling to rescue Chilean miners to start soon

Описание

<p> A drilling operation to free 33 miners trapped half a mile underground in Chile will begin on Sunday or Monday. </p><p> The miners were trapped by an August 5 collapse, and rescuers established contact with them 17 days later by drilling a 6-inch-wide (15-centimetre-wide) hole to the shelter. </p><p> Rescuers are working to drill an escape tunnel that will be about 26ins (66cm) wide and could take weeks or months to complete. </p><p> The first video released of the 33 men trapped deep in a Chilean copper mine shows the men stripped to the waist and appearing slim but healthy, arm-in-arm, singing the national anthem and yelling long live Chile, and long live the miners! . </p><p> Camping just outside the entrance to the mine, those waiting for the miners' return said they were elated after seeing their loved ones - and that the men appeared to be in better shape than thought. </p><p> The men made the video with a small camera sent down to them through a small emergency shaft drilled to their emergency shelter deep in the San Jose mine. </p>